I’ve never been easy on the big bloggers who call themselves “news sites”; namely, Joystiq and Kotaku. Recently I’ve had a bit of sympathy toward Joystiq, if only because their news stories have been setting a dependable trend of being timely, opinionated and humorous. And, that devil boy Brian “Kotaku” Crecente has been just way too proud of the fact that not only is he privileged enough to have Sony and Nintendo send him a comp PS3 and Wii, respectively; but also that he can compare his PS3 to a George Foreman grill and call it news, or let his toddler son abuse the much-sought-after electronic booty like a cheap Fisher-Price toy and wave it in our faces. The fanboys appreciate your modesty as well as your gritty journalism, Brian.

But I just love it when other respectable game sites get into the mix, like GameSetWatch’s scathing editorial on Joystiq’s latest oopsie, entitled Anatomy Of A Goof – Xbox ‘360′ Sales Down! What gets me is that Joystiq and Kotaku pretend to be legitimate news sites when they want to, like when getting free $600 consoles; yet never respect the responsibilities that come with the honor. CBS News didn’t do their research in reporting a false National Guard memo, and it cost Dan Rather his job. Granted the severity of swaying a nation of voters bears more consequence than the sales figures of the Xbox 360, but the same message rings true nonetheless.

The Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics states, “Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist’s credibility.” Crecente and Christoper Grant claim journalism as their trade, but after reading the previous statement I have to ask whether they are even journalists at all? Surely then they should know better than this.

Read the entire story of Joystiq’s recent fumble at GameSetWatch.